Together, We Await the Storm
by LifeofaWarLord
Summary: Eri, the "Ice Queen of Karakura" is famous for three things: movie star good looks, her ranking position of #5 in her class, and her position as the laid back leader of a girl vigilante gang. But her gifts extend into a realm far beyond what most students can see. OCxSomebody (there are so many choices...leaning toward Ichi, Kensei, or Shinji...or Grimmjow)
1. Eri Tansho

Note: When you think Eri Tansho, think of a lighter version of Michiko Malandro, please. Because Michiko is perfect. Seriously, go watch Michiko to Hatchin you guys. I'm gonna base my next OC off of Atsuko oh my God. This is before the Time-skip, in about Chapter 14 or 15. I'll skip around, just because my OC isn't vital to every part of the story I think.

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"It's not right for the living to hang this closely around the dead. Don't you have friends or loved ones to occupy your time with?"

Eri ignored the old woman. She'd seen her spirit hanging around what she later found out was the grave of the ghost's son about six months. She never told Eri her name, just that she could call her Granny. Granny woke her up to get ready for school, then walked her to her friends. She'd been drifting in this world for quite some time, and she'd latched onto Eri.

_Or I latched onto her_, Eri thought, short grey skirt swinging in the breeze. She wore her school's grey blazer, buttons open She wore the white button up, but not the red bow tie, preferring to keep her neck unrestricted. Instead of the knee highs, she wore black thigh highs with lace tops with hr topsiders.

Whoever latched on to who, Eri's apartment felt less...lonely. And she knew the old spirit enjoyed her quiet but loyal companionship. She'd always been able to see and interact with spirits, and frequently saw the monsters that caused the explosions around town. But, she'd learned that it was none of her business, and to keep a low profile. She suppressed her energy, and learned to suppress Granny's to keep her safe.

"Granny," she said,"if you didn't want to be around me you'd leave. I've told you everything that's happened to me, and I've told you many times. Go, or stay." Granny looked at her, smiling.

Most people found Eri intimidating, and she knew this. She'd developed a reputation around Karakura as an 'Ice Queen'. She stood at a relatively unthreatening height of 5'6". She was slim, with long legs, narrow hips, and small breasts. Her skin was pale and smooth, a trait that had been passed to her by her mother. That was all she'd gotten from her mother, though. Her feline, steel grey eyes and glossy dark hair she'd gotten from her father. In her long dark hair was a single streak of hair that'd been bleached and dyed lavender, and she frequently kept it in a swinging high ponytail.

Her left ear was full of piercings, her right only had two. She'd also pierced her nose and belly button. She wore very little makeup, thick cat eye liner and lipgloss. A beauty mark sat in the corner of her full lips, and one lay her chest. On her hands, were sturdy rings, in case she ever needed to break up (or jump into) a fight.

Most people thought she was something to be admired from a distance, and she enjoyed that. The only people she needed were her girls, and the rest she could go alone. Or with Granny.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," the old spirit said,"Your friends are coming. Please try to stay out of trouble today." She floated away, humming serenely.

"Eri!" She turned, smiling at her friends. It was a group of four girls she hung out with: Miko, Jin, Averi, and Richie. The five of them made up the Karakura Diamonds.

Some called it a clique, other's a gang. Eri usually tend to agree more with the latter.

Either way, the group of girls was close, and Eri was their leader. The group walked to school together everyday, as they were all in the same class.

Today, they'd decided to skip till lunch, meting at their usual spot for the short walk to school.

"We caught those bitches from Naruki High down here again last night. Remember last time you kicked Nana's ass halfway across town? They're out lookin for you to retaliate," Eri only half-listened. While she considered herself friends with the girls of the Karakura Diamonds, she wasn't a very good 'leader'. She hung out with her girls before/during school, fought with them when she was needed, but other than that she was in the wind.

She was really only the leader because she was the strongest fighter, outranked the others in class (although not by much; the Karakura Diamonds were in their classes top 15), and was the only one who could think through their anger enough to keep them out of trouble.

But when she wasn't battling the Naruki City Queens, their bitter rivals, she was at home with Granny. She took a hands off approach to everything she felt was just to occupy her time, and the Karakura Diamonds was just that: a filled time slot.

The girls walked into school, and Eri met every stare she got with a small smile. People only called her the "Ice Queen" because she was quiet, and did not speak unless it was to her friends or her teacher. But she was by no means rude or mean, despite being known as a street thug as well.

"Good afternoon Tansho!"

"Hey Eri!"

"See you in class."

The girls split up, going to their lockers. Eri walked past Chad, opening her locker next to his. She said, smiling. He looked down at her, nodding. They were both reserved, but they had a quiet friendship. She threw her bag in her neat locker, grabbed her books, and walked off toward the classroom, patting Chad on his as she walked past. She put her excuse on the teacher's desk, then moved to her seat.

In class, she sat beside Jin. Out of the other four, she liker her the most. She was super cute, with brown eyes, blonde hair and a baby face with a button nose and pink cheeks. Her tongue was pierced at the very tip, and she had sharp little teeth. She was slightly chubby, but it looked so good on her nobody really cared. She wore the button up and a black bow tie. On her fingers of both hands were a row of silver knuckle rings, and she wore black skeleton tights.

"Yo Tansho, get any sleep? You look tired."

Eri shook her head, looking out the window. Jin was quiet, before moving in to whisper beside her.

"Thinking about your parents?" Eri didn't look toward her, just nodded. Her father disappeared shortly after her mother died. The circumstances around her death were fuzzy in Eri's memory, although Eri sometimes thought it was simply because she didn't want to remember. Jin patted her on her back.

"If you need to doze off, I can take two sets of notes. We're ahead in class, so I'm pretty sure the old man won't care." Jin nodded. The rest of the class poured in. Chad sat behind her, and Orihime Inoue ran to the window. She was sniffing the air like a dog. Jin watched.

Her and Orihime were friends, although not very close. Sometimes, she walked her home and cooked dinner for.

Only because she found out Orihime ate slop for dinner, she had a particular fondness for anything with butter or cheese...or red bean paste. To make sure her arteries didn't clog up entirely, Eri sometimes brought her lunch or made her dinner.

Tatsuki came up behind her, trying to look at the window.

"Orihime, what the hell are you doing?" Tatsuki asked. Her and Eri's eyes met, and she looked to her for help.

"Hey, Eri! Can you do something about this?"

"Orihime, what are you doing, sniffing out Ichigo again?" she asked. She pulled back from the window, beet red.

"W-what do you mean?" Tatsuki looked from Eri, who was now calmly nibbling on graham crackers, to a blushing Orihime.

"Again?! What are you, a dog?! Orihime, you gotta stop!"

Anybody with a sem-functioning brain could see that Orihime had a freakishly large crush on that ass-hat Ichigo Kurosaki. Orihime was her friend, but she didn't see the appeal. He was hotheaded, rude, and she'd witnessed him run headlong into many a fight.

_He hardly seemed her type, but here she is, lusting after that boy, _Eri mused, grabbing another cracker and offering Jin half.

She despised impulsive behavior, finding that there was almost never a reason for it.

"I was just checking. He's here, I can tell."

Tatsuki smacked her forehead, and Eri rolled her eyes.

"It's not like he get up here at this...,"a shadow rose over the window,"very...second." The glass to the window broke, and there was the orange-haired asshole in question.

The class, who'd been relaxing before lunch period was over, had stopped to look at the boy who jumped three stories up into his classroom. He, on the other hand, scanned the class, focusing on her.

"What the hell is he looking at Tansho?" Jin asked, and Eri shrugged.

"What is it Kurosaki? Can I help you?" He'd moved fast, and was now on top of her desk, fondling her breasts.

Every conversation and movement in the room came to an abrupt end. Orihime and Tatsuki stood, shocked, and ORihime looked like she was about to pass out. Jin and Chad looked at each other, then at Eri. She looked very calmly at Ichigo.

Blood boiled in her veins, and she squeezed her hands into tight fists.

"So, Kurosaki...glad to see your enjoying yourself." she said, her voice taking an hard edge. He didn't even look up, just kept kneading her chest with a stupid smile on his face.

_What a pig._

She whot her arm out, ringed fist connecting with his nose. He flew across the room, landing on the teacher's desk. He immediately sat up, putting a hand to his nose.

"Hey! That hurt!" He cried.

"Ichigo you asshole!" Tatsuki said, moving to finish what Eri had started. Eri put a hand on the short girls shoulder.

" I got this,"she turned to Orihime,"I'll teach him some respect." She sized him up, trying to see what had broken inside his head to make him think he had the right to touch her that way. He could sense her eyes, and he got up, running full speed to the next classroom. She didn't speak, just cracked her neck and fists, running after him just as fast.

There's something different about him, she thought, watching him sail out the window. As he went through, he came up again, but in a different outfit. Eri stopped running, looking at him, then the Other Ichigo was running away. Ichigo's eyes widened, shock in them.

"You can see me?" he asked. Tatsuki thought about answering him, but turned to see Perv Ichigo gaining distance. A short girl, the one she recognized as the transfer student Rukia appeared beside Floating Ichigo. She looked at her, flinching when Eri made direct eye contact.

"She can see us?! I thought this was the Ice Queen who never got out of her own head long enough to pay attention to anything!"

Eri smiled, leaping out the window to catch up with Perv Ichigo. As she did so, she relaxed the walls she kept up to repress her full spiritual energy. It hit the floating pair like a a train. And just as fast as she took it down, she put it back up.

She hit the ground, and ran after the pervert without skipping a beat.


	2. Jumpin Jack Jolted

Note: I'll make sure to update this more often.

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"She could see us Ichigo!"

"Yeah, I know!"

"She knows that wasn't you! And what's worse, her spiritual pressure -"

"I get it! Jeez, I was right there next to you! Can we worry about getting my body back before we start freaking out over that glacial broad?! Cause the fact my body is running around kissing and molesting girl has a very real effect on my reputation!" Rukia raised a brow. She was used to his usual outbursts, but never about his 'image'. She smiled looking at him slyly.

"I thought you didn't care what people thought of you, Ichigo?" He paused in the air, then turned to her with a grumpy scowl.

"I just want to find my body before that Mod-soul gets me arrested, or killed. In case you didn't notice, he felt up that thug, and no doubt half the class before he got away!" Rukia snorted, shaking her head. The two shinigami descended, to walk on foot.

The girl was a problem. She wasn't stronger than Ichigo, but she was definitely stronger than a run of the mill human should be.

Karukura Town was a place of heightened spiritual activity, however, so she couldn't say this kind of thing wouldn't happen.

From what she'd observed of the girl, Eri Tansho, she was rather distant. She was generally polite to people, had a group of friends, and was a popular girl. But she wasn't particularly talkative or even warm.

The Tansho girl was apathetic, regarding everything as if it was of zero importance. Even when seeing them floating outside the 3rd story window, she just kept going. And with the black hair and grey eyes, it was a lot like sitting in class with her brother.

But, Like Ichigo said, capturing the Mod-Soul of of greater priority.

"Your body will be fine, Ichigo. When we catch him, we will terminate him, and restore you to your body! Then, we will go speak with Tansho girl!" Ichigo stopped walking, his grown deepening.

"Wait? These are the sme Mod-Souls that were supposed to be destroyed, right? Didn't you guys create him in the first place? Why create a living breathing thing for your convenience only to throw it away like garbage for the same reason you brought it into the world?"

Rukia waved him off, still walking.

"It's not about convenience or satisfaction. It's about rules. The Soul Society ordered that Mod-Souls be destroyed, that's what will happen. After all," she said,"these rules are created to protect the Human World! Now, do you want your body or not?"

xxx

She lost Perv Ichigo a while ago. Whoever - or whatever- was using the Real Ichigo's body to molest girls had a lot of strength and speed.

So now she wandered about, contemplating going back to school or just going home.

Whatever she decided to do, she knew Real Ichigo and the Kuchiki girl would com for her. She knew they wouldn't hurt her, just ask her a ton of questions and possibly swear her to secrecy.

She wouldn't tell anyway. Orihime had been mortified, but she probably figured out that wasn't Ichigo An. Fondling girls with reckless abandon in front of everyone was never his style, even with his reputation as a hot-headed thug. It was also widely known Eri Tansho and Ichigo Kurosaki did not particularly like each other. He thought she was cold and callous, she thought he was stupid and impulsive.

They were both right, to a degree. But she didn't hate him enough to reveal any of his secrets. She walked past a group of whining schoolkids, and stopped at "jumping highschooler".

Apparently he'd broken one of the kids video games. They spoke like he was long gone though, so she kept that her mind was free from school, she remembered she had to go to the grocer's for the thing she'd need for dinner that evening. It wasn't that close from where she was, so she turned the corner, walking away from the kids.

As she rounded the corner, she hear this loud clicking, like an insect. Immediately, she shifted in high alert. Immediately after the clicking started, the energy around her grew dark, and the air seemed to thicken

"One off those things is nearby," she said. The clicking was even louder. The kids kept talking, complaining about the crazy orange-haired man. She peeked around the corner, balking at the Monster as it slithered down towards the kids. She looked at the kids, completely oblivious.

She knew getting involved meant trouble. With somebody who had spiritual energy like her, she didn't need any extra attention.

But he'll kill those brats...fuck.

"Hey, kids!" She said, running back "Hey! You need to move!"

They looked up, and Perv Ichigo came shooting over head, getting behind them to push them away. The Hollow shot down behind him, and a small explosion went off. The kids looked at Perv Ichigo, then at her.

"Hey, what gives?!" One of them asked.

"You need to move! Do you wanna die?!" He cried. The kids turned to look at him, stepping away.

"Whoa, this guy's crazy he-"

Eri watched the Hollow move down to strike again, this time hitting his shoulder. Blood spurt forth into the kids ran away screaming, but she stayed, contemplating how to help without getting eaten herself. She shook her head running to grab him.

"Stupid impostor," she mumbled. As she neared him, he jumped to the roof. Agitated, she ran to the side of the school where the kids had been playing. To her left was an open classroom window. She sailed through it, ignoring the janitor's goofy smile as she crashed into the room, her skirt flying up to show her thong.

"Where are the stairs to roof old man?" Still smiling, he pointed out of the classroom door.

"Signs right there, beautiful."

Eri rolled her eyes, running off to go up the stairs. She rounded up the flights, and she could hear the Monster's shriek as if he was there on the stair well. Even with being controlled by a supernatural thing, Ichigo's body was still human.

He'll be eaten if you don't get him, Eri. The two of you are strong, fast...you can run around town until somebody comes to help. You can even hide if you move fast enough, throw him off the trail.

The door to the roof opened as she pushed through. The monster was like a giant caterpillar, but angrier and a lot less cute. The real ichigo had a blade out, and struck it on it's head. The big monster fell back, and Perv Ichigo ran forward, kicking it upwards. He had gone over the roof doing so. Eri ran to him, ignoring the real Ichigo. His foot went over the rails of the school, and jumped, grabbing his ankle. She looked down at him, and he looked up at her.

The Real Ichigo grabbed her by her collar, bringing them both up. When Eri turned to him, his face was beet red, and he wouldn't look her in the eye. He immediately shifted his focus from Eri to the Perv Ichigo.

They argued about a Soul Society, pills, and hollow things. Eri watched all of this, but grew confused. She moved in between them, grabbing the Real Ichigo's wrist and Perv Ichigo's collar.

"Now," she said calmly,"One of you is going to tell me what's going on. And you're gonna tell me no - what the hell?"

A man in green and black appeared before her. He looked at Perv Ichigo, and raised the butt of his cane to his forehead.

"We finally find you,"he said"and you're all roughed up. This makes all the equipment we bought totally useless."

There was a click, and Perv Ichigo fell limp in her grasp. A little ball fell out of his mouth, rolling along the ground before stopping at the striped-hat man's feet. She looked at Perv Ichigo.

_ He didn't even hit the guy, not really, why's he so relaxed so suddenly?_

She didn't need to analyze him long. He stared blankly up at the sky, eyes empty of that lively spark. She didn't take her eyes from him, right away as she loosened her grip on his collar. He hit the ground with a dull thud.

_He's dead_, Eri thought. She'd seen that glassy look in her own mother's eyes. It's a look that is not easily forgotten. She didn't know how, but the man in the striped hat removed the impostor's soul from Ichigo's body. All that was there now was a corpse. She turned to look at the man, who walked past her.

"Mission complete! Let's go home you guys!"

_You guys?_

She turned, to see a man with two kids, watching with big eyes. Her brow raised, but remained otherwise calm. There was a short red-headed boy, an old man in overalls, and a little girl who looked a lot like someone who'd just seen their puppy get ran over by a semi.

"Go home?! Already?! I was expecting to see some action!"

_What the hell is this? "Some action?" Who are these crazy people?_ She looked at Ichigo, eyes narrowed.

"Is this some elaborate joke, Kurosaki? Cause if it is, I'll beat you to death with a hammer."

She wouldn't beat him to death, not really.

She'd just beat him with a hammer.

He howled, pushing her off. He fixed his robes, scowling deeply as he yelled at her.

"Why would I wanna trick you crazy Ice woman! Hey!" He called for the striped hat guy "What are you gonna do with him?!"

The man in the striped hat picked up the pill, then looked at Ichigo.

"I'm gonna dispose of him. Why does it matter?" He asked simply. Ichigo's jaw dropped, and he looked from the man to Eri.

"You can see me too?! Who are you people?!" The man in the hat thought about what he'd say next, eyes wide. He looked at Eri again.

"Hmmm, well, whose she? She can see you too right? I can't answer for her, and I'm not entirely sure about how to answer this question to be honest..." Rukia appeared behind him, stealing the pill from his hand.

"He's nothing but a greedy salesman!" She took the pill, passing it to Ichigo. Then she and the striped-hat man bickered a bit before she walked off.

"C'mon Ichigo, let's go home." She turned to look at Eri, who was staring between her and the leaving group. The only thing that could have given away her confusion was her raised brow. It twitched madly as she whipped to watch both parties depar.

"Tansho! You come too! We have much to discuss!" she called. Eri turned at her name. She eyed the two teens, hesitant.

She wasn't scared, at least not anymore now that the monster was gone. But she'd never seen anything like this before. But, she knew they wouldn't hurt her, so she followed.


	3. Medusa & the Bull

AN: A slightly longer chapter. And, as far as the ending, it's not what you think. Also...I'm unable to choose a pairing. I'm stuck between Ichigo, Grimm,Kensei, and Shinji...so many choices. *sigh*

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"So...that's it"

Rukia nodded, as Ichigo watched the news. On the television they were running a story about sightings of a "Jumping Boy". While he was busy moping about the fact he made the evening news, Rukia was trying to explain the things that had taken place.

"So, let me see if I got the gist of those...drawings of yours," she said. She looked at the badly done illustrations again with a wrinkled nose, but sensed that now was the time for an art critique, as Rukia's look of determination turned to one of violence.

"Uh, anyway! So that thing that attacked Ichigo and not Ichigo was a Hollow...a bad spirit that eats souls. And You are a Grim Reaper, basically, going to collect souls and send the to Heaven or Hell. And Ichigo became a Grim Reaper when his family got attacked by those things. And Ichigo's human body got taken over by a weapon that was created by Grim Reapers...yes?"

"For the thousandth time, Tansho, we are not 'Grim Reapers'. We are ' Soul Reapers'. We reap souls. But basically, yes."

Eri nodded, looking around Ichigo's room.

"Grim reapers reap souls too. You usher the dead to their designated places in the afterlife...so your Grim Reapers to me." She stood up, grabbing her bag. Rukia and Eri walked to school and retrieved Eri's things, then came back Kurosaki's place. They'd been there for some time, talking about today, and it was getting dark. She was sure Granny was waiting for her, wondering where she was. Ichigo pulled his attention from the news long enough to look at Eri.

"Thanks for the explanation, Rukia. Kurosaki, sorry about chasing after your body today. If you want," she said, pulling a lion toy out of her bag,"you can put that soul thing in here. It's cute to look at, and he'll be less trouble than a dog or cat." She threw Ichigo the toy, and turned to walk out of the door.

"See you guys at school tomorrow. G'night, Grim Reapers!" She smiled slightly, hearing both teens protesting. She waved at Kurosaki's sisters politely, and denied being Kurosaki's girlfriend when his father asked for the hundredth time.

He was relieved, like the other ninety-nine times, to know that Ichigo was not having relations with a Karakura Diamond. Bidding everyone goodnight, she left, and began the short walk home.

_Everything that happened today was so weird...but I can't say it's unbelievable_, Eri thought to herself. All the talk of Hollows and Grim Reapers was weird, like something out of a nightmare.

But she believed it. After all, she'd been seeing parts of the Spirit World for years. She just never thought of it as this structured Mega-Universe with a hierarchy. For a long time, she just thought it was a bunch of ghosts wandering loosely about the Earth.

After about 10 minutes, she heard a pair of footsteps behind her.

"Eri!" the voices called, and they sounded tired. She turned at her name, seeing Jin and Miko running to her. She stopped walking, allowing them to catch up. Miko hunched over, her short brown hair covering her green eyes.

"We've...been...looking for...you all night!" She wheezed. Jin nodded, looking to her.

"Everybody was talking about you chasing Kurosaki for what he did! Did you get that bastard?!" She balled her hand into a fist, rings shining in the light of the street lamp. Eri shook her head, turning to continue walking home.

"Nah, I let him go with a warning," she lied. Both followed her.

"You want us to take em for you? You need to keep your mind sharp for when Nana tries to come get you! We'll take care of Kurosaki for you! Nobody fucks with the Karakura Diamonds!" Miko cried. She was tall, with wide hips and a small torso. She had on the schools beige sweater, an unbuttoned shirt, grey skirt, and slouchy socks that piled over her topsiders. Like the other girls, she wore a handful of sturdy rings over her long fingers. Her nails were like claws, and were painted to match the teal streak in her hair.

"Nah," Eri sighed,"just leave em. Everybody's gonna be makin fun of him tomorrow, I think that's fair treatment. Hey, did we have any homework?"

The girls both nodded, moving to grab notes from their bag. Jin got it first, handing it to her friend.

"It's easy stuff. I did most of it already, just lemme copy your math in class tomorrow." The trio stopped in front of Eri's building. She waved at her friends, and made her way up to the third floor.

She didn't sense Granny's presence, which was odd.

"Hey!" she yelled as she opened her door. The apartment, decorated like a teenage girl was living in it, was empty. She threw her bag and Jin's notes on a beanbag, and moved into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Granny, huddled by the refrigerator, in front of her Fleetwood Mac poster.

She could feel Granny's energy now...it was just different, muted. She could hear her groaning, and Eri moved behind her.

"Are you okay, Gran?" The spirit turned immediately, and Eri saw she was clutching her chest.

"I'm fine!" she said, forcing a smile. Still clutching her chest, she began to phase through the wall.

"Wait! Hey -"

"I'm going to go visit my son's grave! You'll have to wake yourself up tomorrow!" she called, laughing as she disappeared through Stevie Nicks' face. Eri was left looking at the poster in the black-light of the kitchen, and had the distinct feeling that something was wrong.

xXx

Eri ate breakfast and got ready for school by herself, worried for Granny. She wore her school's short sleeve button up and skirt. She wore her a pair of red thigh highs and her topsiders. Her rings were piled on her fingers, and her hair was tied into a ponytail.

She hated apartment's silence, as Granny still had not returned. She grabbed her toast and bag, running out the building quickly. She ran, until she was at her and her friends meeting place. She was early, so she sat there and ate her toast and made a copy of her math homework for Jin. While sitting on the bench, she felt a quick spurt of energy she'd recognized as Granny.

She turned her head slowly, looking for the old woman. She didn't find her, but it made her smile a little. The energy was still different from how Granny's energy usually felt, but it was her. Obviously she was feeling better,and was just checking on her to make sure she'd gotten to her morning meeting place safely.

The girls met with her shortly after, and they began walking to school.

"Did you get that Ginger? That soulless, depraved bastard?!" Richie asked, pointing in Eri's face with a red fingernail. Out of the group, she was the only one wore the uniform as was directed by the school. However, she made up for it with freshly dyed cotton candy-pink shoulder-length hair, that faded into baby pink towards the ends. She was athletic, with strong legs from Soccer.

"No, Jin told me she let him off with a warning. I told you this already dumbass!" Averie said, smacking Richie's hand out of the air. Averie was the shortest of the group, just 5'1", and skinny. She wore her black hair short and spiky, like Tatsuki, although she kept a short braid in the back wrapped in green yarn. She wore the blazer and skirt, but donned a black v-neck that let her large breasts show and black tights underneath with black running shoes.

"Why'd ya just let em go Tansho? The guy grabs a titty in front of everyone, and you just..warn em? Did ya even give em a good slap?" Richie asked, blue eyes wide and shocked. Averie rolled her hazel eyes, reaching up to smack Richie in the back of the head. Eri looked at Richie, smiling only a little. Out of the group, Richie was the most invested in the gang-part of things. She was the second-best fighter, and was known as mean. She annoyed Eri, but Eri liked her tenacity sometimes. As a result, she decided she'd oblige her today.

"I can't be bothered beatin that kid up when we have Nana and her crew to worry about. He's small fish, Rich. I put the fear of God into him when I chased him down, you shoulda seen the guy!"

The girls laughed, talking loudly as they entered the school.

Jin and Eri walked into class, putting their homework on the desk and sitting down. Eri and her blonde friend talked until the bell rang for class, and the other students came in. They crowded around her, asking if she'd beaten Kurosaki to death or forced him to move towns.

Jin, running a hand through her curly blonde hair, rolled her eyes.

"She gets molested by Kurosaki and you're accusing her of murder. Newsflash! The Diamonds don't murder or fight boys. Besides, she never touched the guy."

A boy, Keigo, appeared out of the huddle of kids. His sidekick, Mizuiro, stood beside him. Eri always thought Keigo was cute, but she thought he tried too hard.

"He hasn't shown up at school today! He must be dead or holed up in a hospital!" He said, throwing a hand over his eyes dramatically. Eri was contemplating speaking, but not too far off, there was an explosion. The kids all turned to look out the windows, eyes wide as another explosion occurred. Another happened, closer to the school.

Above them, the intercom sounded.

"Good morning! Everyone is to evacuate the building calmly and uniformly! Your teachers will be outside to get your names. Afterwards, please go home. Stay in groups, and keep an eye open for danger!"

The kids all grabbed their things, moving quickly as the explosions continued. Now that they were closer, Eri could feel that explosions weren't from any bomb.

A screech rang in the morning air, and it shook the school. A dark, heavy spiritual pressure slammed on Eri's shoulders and she felt it steal her breath. The student body had gone from a steady movement to running after the tremors went through the school. Grabbing Jin's hand, Eri pushed through the crowd. They went into a classroom on the first floor and hopped out the window.

"The movie they're shootin out there is crazy, huh?" Jin laughed nervously. Eri turned to her, then spun around when she saw the huge Hollow moving through the street. It looked like a ram and a bull, with huge horns and hulking muscle. she looked at Jin, surprised she could see it. But she saw in Jin's face it was best to leave it at the idea that it was just a movie in progress.

"Yeah girl, it's crazy. Looks like it will be good though, we should go see it when it comes out. Till then, let's get the hell out of here," She grabbed her hand again, and turned to join the rest of the students.

A new energy, nowhere near as stifling as the Hollow's alerted Eri's senses. She dropped Jins hand, mind running frantically.

_That thing is going after Granny._

She could go after Granny, they were fast enough to get to a safe hiding spot. Once they hid, Eri could mask Granny's energy from the Hollow. It'd be easy enough. At the same time, she didn't think she'd have to run too far, because there was a good chance Ichigo was not too far behind. He hadn't been in school today, and neither had Rukia, so it was safe to assume the Hollow was the reason. She could grab Granny, Ichigo and Rukia would kill the Hollow.

"Hey, Tansho?" She heard Jin, and she was shaking her shoulder. Eri took a deep breathe, then turned back to where the Hollow had been in the street.

"I'm gonna go see about gettin a part in that movie," she said calmly,"tell the teacher I was with you."

And with that, she went off, ignoring Jin's cries. She followed Granny's energy, and masked her own. It did not take long to catch up. The Hollow was huge, but he was extremely slow. She could see Granny go off down a street, near their apartment. Eri ran down the adjacent street, and Granny saw her in her peripheral. She was clutching her chest, but smiled at Eri.

The teen nodded her head towards a nearby building, moving there. Granny sped up, and when she was close enough, Eri shut down her spiritual energy. The Hollow shrieked in anger, but ran in the opposite direction, looking around for the spirit.

"Where have you been?" Eri said, looking at Granny's pained expression.

"I...there's..something wrong!" She groaned, still forcing a smile. Eri heard a clinking of metal, and Granny tore her hand away from her chest. She looked at Eri, then fell to her knees howling in pain. She heard the earth vibrating, and the screech of the Bull Hollow.

"You hid yourself I see!" He said, his voice warped and odd. He got closer, and his pressure got stronger. Eri turned to see Granny, still hunched over, was transforming. She reached towards the old woman, but quickly drew her hand back. As she continued screaming in pain, her voice changed, deepened, and became as warped as the Bull's voice...and the Caterpillar's from the day before.

Eri, with wide eyes, turned and ran from Granny. She did not turn back, ignoring as there was explosion behind her, and a new spiritual pressure combined with that of the bulls.

Overhead, Ichigo was looking down at her.

"You can't just stay out of trouble can you?!" He cried, dropping down to stand in front of her. Rukia appeared beside her shortly.

"You can mask your spiritual energy at will?" she asked, eyes narrowed. Eri nodded, and peered over Ichigo's shoulder. The Bull Hollow had appeared, but a new one was beside him. Eri recognized her a Granny, despite the horns and tendrils and the bony exterior.

"That one's new Ichigo! A soul that didn't pass to the Soul Society on time!" Eri turned to look at Rukia. Then she turned to the new Hollow. Eri's stomach was turning over and over in her stomach, but her exterior was cool.

"That one, the new one, was an old woman," Eri said. Rukia turned to her with a raised brow.

"I'd found her one day, and she's been living with me since." Rukia's eyes widened. In front of them Ichigo ran to deal with the two beasts.

"What do you mean she's been living with you. This world is not for the undead! How long has she been here?!"

"Half a year."

"She should have turned months ago! How have you been keeping her in her form?!" Before Eri could speak, the Hollow interrupted them.

"Oh, I remember you, little Girl," it hissed, voice shrill and harsh. Ichigo went to attack it, but one of the tendrils of it's hair hardened to bone and deflected him. Rukia tried to pull Eri to run, but she did not move.

"You took care of me. Yes, I remember. My Little Orphan Girl. Such a sweet Girl," It said, and extended a bony hand. Eri narrowed her eyes, and took a step back.

"Don't listen to it Tansho! Move!" Ichigo screamed. He tried to go after the Hollow, but was attacked by the Bull.

He's swamped, Eri thought, moving a step further away from the Hollow. With the tendrils on its head, it looked like some hellish skeleton Medusa.

"We have to keep it distracted, but at a distance, until Ichigo kills the other one," Eri said, ignoring the Hollow as it goaded Eri to come closer. Rukia nodded, grabbing Eri's arm.

"We'll run. When you get tired, I'll pick you up. That Bull is slow, it won't take long for Ichigo to defeat." The Medusa Hollow was still speaking when the two girls ran, at full speed. As they did so, Eri saw Ichigo strike the Bull across its forehead. It cried out, then disappeared.

"Keep running! I got this!" He cried, moving to attack the next monster. It towered over the buildings, but did not move. Eri turned, hearing it cackle.

"Why are you running from me, Little Girl? Please, stop," Eri watched at as tendril first pointed at them, then hardened and extended to shoot out at them. Ichigo paused, horrified. Eri moved quickly, knowing Rukia would be struck first. She looked back, to see the tendril had extended and multiplied into 4 strands of rock hard bone.

She pushed Rukia into a nearby alley, and tried to follow. There was a piercing pain in her leg, chest, and her back. Shortly, she felt her bottom half go numb. She looked at Rukia's horrified expression, and she felt herself being lifted up off the ground.

It was funny, how numb she was after the first shock. She looked down at herself, holes in her uniform where she'd been lanced through. After seeing the holes in her chest, her vision began to swim, and it was like looking at the world through a fishbowl.

A loud buzz filled her ears, and her breathing became shallow and fast. Faintly, she heard Ichigo screaming, and then a Hollow shriek. She looked, calmly, down at her wounds, to see the Hollow Bones dissipate and turn to dust. Rukia was now floating, looking sadly at her. Eri blinked, slowly, trying to make her vision sharper.

"I'm dying, right?" she whispered, unable to move as Rukia grabbed her. Ichigo appeared in front of them, on the verge of tears. She wanted to laugh, laugh at everything.

It was funny, after all. She'd died at the hands of a spirit she'd been hiding and caring for, like keeping a feral dog. She'd gotten comfortable, thinking she knew so much about Spirits, but yesterday and today proved her so...wrong.

And now, here she was, dying.

Eri Tansho, the Ice Queen of Karakura High was dying in the arms of two Grim Reapers who went to her school.

She watched Rukia's mouth move, but couldn't hear her.

And then, she felt herself rising up out of Rukia's arms.

Here we go, she thought, coming to stand before Rukia and Ichigo. She looked down, to see herself standing on top of her body, a chain sticking out of her chest. She looked at Ichigo, then Rukia.

"So, I guess this is the part where you reap my soul, huh?" She joked, ignoring the tear that fell from her face. Ichigo didn't move, and Eri could see his heart breaking. Rukia stood up, dropping Eri's body.

"You have two options at this point, Tansho: You'll go to the Soul Society, and from there, you can either wait and be reincarnated as new person, or you can enter Shin'ō Academy."

"Shin'ō Academy? The Grim Reaper School?" Rukia took Ichigo's blade, then hit her in the head with the butt. Before Eri could protest, she felt her soul become warm. She began glowing, the light reflecting on the two teens faces.

"If you're gonna be a Soul Reaper, you better start calling them by the proper name. We'll see each other again Tansho!"

Eri nodded, Blue light engulfing her vision.

The last thing she saw was Ichigo, a tear rolling down his face.


	4. Clean-up Crew

AN: Next few Chapters will be from the other character's POV, just to go ahead and give them attention. But, I'll break it up between the others as well as Eri, so you can get glimpses as to what she's doing. I'm considering changing the name of this story as well, so keep that in mind. Enjoy, Reviews are welcome. I'll update this soon. Have a safe evening/day! :)

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The soul disappeared, dissolving into a glowing blue aura.

He knew Rukia was speaking, but all he could pay attention to was the body on the ground. Eri lay there, empty eyes staring at him. Blood trickled from her mouth, her body, and pooled underneath her. The blood pool expanded, coming towards him.

There was a buzzing, loud and droning, in his ears. He could feel his insides turning, inside and out, churning inside him. The world lost focus, and he felt himself getting sick. The blood was coming to swallow him up, to drown him and to punish. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he was back there.

He was small again, standing alone in the rain. And, there in front of him, was the body of his mother. Those same dead eyes looking at him, disappointed he hadn't done more to save the spark that made them special. The rain fell in hard pellets of ice, dousing him. The blood pool under his mother's body grew, reaching for him. The buzzing only seemed to get louder in his ears as it came towards his feet. His heart pounded, but he resigned himself to his punishment.

I couldn't save her…I couldn't save her, now I'm paying for it...

Suddenly, he felt a hand guide him backwards, away from the blood pool. It was still raining, the buzzing was still as loud as ever. He turned, looking up at Rukia. she looked at him, and squeezed his shoulder.

"Snap out of it." He blinked, and he was back in the present. His mother's body disappeared, and Eri's took it's place. Rukia took her hand off his shoulder, moving towards the body.

"There was nothing you could have done, Ichigo. Now, we hide the body." Ichigo almost jumped out his skin at that, and looked to Rukia like she'd slapped him. Rukia picked up the body, throwing it over her shoulder, Then, she rose up off of the ground.

"What do you mean hide it?" He howled. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest. Blood dripped onto Rukia's uniform and shoes, but she didn't seem to notice. She thought about her response, then floated into the other direction. Ichigo rose up, following her.

"Rukia! You can't just-"

"There's a very good chance she'll come back." Ichigo rushed, coming to levitate beside her. Rukia moved, fast. After all, even though they were invisible, the body was not.

"Yeah, I got the reincarnation part, but that could be hundreds of years from now! Besides, what's the point if she can't even remember? And she'd be a baby, why hold on to her adult body? And where are you taking it?!"They sailed over city, the wind ripping through his hakama. He looked at Rukia, confused and a little shocked. Eri's eyes were looking at him, as her head lie in the middle of Rukia's back. He quickly looked away.

"No, not as a reincarnation, Ichigo. Tansho had the ability to suppress her Reiryoku at will. The one time she did give us a peek of her energy, she did so deliberately. and, that power rivaled that of some Shinigami, including you. Not only that, but she said that woman had been living with her for half a year - it takes half that time for a Chain of Fate to corrode." The pair continued through the air, and Ichigo recognized they were heading for Urahara's shop. What'd he do with the body was beyond him, but he didn't really want to know either. Rukia continued talking.

"With that being said : she could live in Soul society until she is reincarnated, but the chances of that are unlikely. It will be harder for her to suppress her energy there."

"So she'll go to that school right?" Rukia nodded, looking down at the buildings.

"But…doesn't that take a few years to do too? And won't she forget?" Rukia at that, and went to land behind the shop. Blood was still pouring out of Eri's body, soaking into Rukia's school uniform. She plopped the body onto the wood, propping her up against a boulder. Ichigo's eyes slowly rose, against his will, took look at the body. Rukia sensed this, and blocked it from his view.

"The Shin'ō Academy requires an entrance exam. Anyone can take it, no matter how long they've been there. Occasionally, spirits who emit exceptionally high spiritual energy are recruited upon placement in one of the districts of Soul Society. If she can pass that test, she will be admitted. For some, it takes the full six years. But those with exceptional gifts or friends in high places get out in as early as one, two, or three years. From there, she can become a shinigami."

"Ok…but that still takes years."

"Time is of no importance. Although Soul Society and the Human World operate as two sides of the same coin, there are differences between the two sides. Time is much different there than it is here. Which is why I'm taking the time and effort to make sure nobody knows she has died. Like I said, the chances she will end up at the Shin'ō Academy as opposed to living her life out there are slim to none. Trust me on this: someone will find her and put her powers to use. We will hide the body here because I'm sure we will see her again, and we don't need the entire student body of Kurakara High in a frenzy because some of them have spotted their dead classmate, or 'freaking out' should she take an extended mission here in the future. As far as the humans will know, she will have moved away."

Ichigo thought about this, staring fixedly at the blood that stained her uniform. Rukia telling him all this kind of made him feel better. He'd fucked up by not saving her, and it hurt him. Doubly so because she'd died as his mom died when he was a kid. The only difference was Ichigo was equipped to defend Eri, more than equipped to keep her from getting killed. They had not been friends, they didn't even really like each other, but knowing she died still affected him.

At the same time, knowing there was a chance she'd be back - and better than before - was good. It seemed balanced, and made the blow of failing to protect her a little lighter. Behind them, Urahara cleared his throat.

"So…what do we have here?"

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AN: I'll update you guys with a name change once I've decided what the new name will be. I'll put the info on my profile, as well as in at least two chapters before changing it officially.


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